


Looking for Guidance

by Dusklatte



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Attempted Assassinations, Because we all know Byleth needs some support too, Claude is high-key crushing on Byleth but both of them are oblivious, F/M, Fire Emblem: Three Houses Golden Deer Route, Fluff, Fluff and support!, Haircuts, Minor Injuries, New Clothes, Post-Time Skip, Stargazing, Tea Parties
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-02
Updated: 2020-07-13
Packaged: 2020-11-22 02:49:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 13,074
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20866982
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dusklatte/pseuds/Dusklatte
Summary: Claude makes sure to know where his allies are at all times. Byleth's routine, however? A bit more difficult to grasp.But when he notices her taking time out of her day to support everyone...?





	1. Routine

**Author's Note:**

> Hi yes I had a fluffy and cutesy kinda domestic sweetness idea, and I might have used far too many synonyms for fluff there but oh well.

Claude was always one to pick up on the little details. For example, he had been able to determine the true nature of the relationship between Seteth and Flayn; that Sylvain would flirt the day away to forget about the burdens of his crest, and that Raphael was secretly getting lessons from Hilda in the art of accessory making.

His desire to know the subtleties of his allies had even extended to becoming aware of their daily routines. This was not so he could exploit, scheme or trick, but rather a method of convenience and reassurance – a necessity during wartime. Just because a person was absent did not mean they had been kidnapped or killed by the enemies.

There were times where he would be confused by these details though, and as with back in his school days (when his main purpose gathering the details were for schemes), Byleth was the source of his greatest puzzlement. She was spontaneous, and didn’t stick to much of a routine. The closest she had to one was that she would use her Sundays as a day to wind down and do what she wished to do, rather than what she needed to do.

After a few weeks, he began to make notes of themes which would stick out to him. There were some things which made him raise an eyebrow through surprise and admiration. She would cover the entirety of Garreg Mach on her rest days. She would talk to everyone, and help them where necessary. It was a kind yet impressive gesture on her part. She would do this within about three to five hours, depending on how tedious the tasks she assisted in were.

She also spent much of her time in her room, at the graveyard, and in the cathedral. Her room and the graveyard he understood – everyone needed time alone, and her parents were laid to rest in Garreg Mach. But the cathedral? It was quite an anomaly, considering her non-religious upbringing, and distinct unawareness of the Church of Seiros until taking up her role as Professor.

Byleth was not pious, similar to the likes of Marianne, Seteth, or Flayn. Neither was she there to admire the interior like Ignatz, for she never really saw the point in the extravagance of the building.

One day, Claude decided to follow his Teach, to see what she was up to.

He was surprised as he lingered in the shadows at the back of the cathedral, looking as Byleth crouched down by the rubble and tossed a few of the stray stones back onto the large pile by the stained glass.

What shocked him more was her following activity. She was speaking to the counsellor in the room. She was handed a stack of notes, and with a soft smile on her face, she would tell the counsellor responses to each and every one of them. Though she was now physically one of the youngest in the army, she was wise beyond her years.

Then… he watched as she reached the bottom few notes. They were all written on the same colour of paper, and she would sigh as she handed them back without a response. She then took hold of a piece of paper (the same as the unanswered ones) and scribbled something down on it. She then handed that over, before sitting down on one of the pews and looking up at the ceiling for a while.

After about twenty minutes, she left.

Claude had felt a twinge of guilt in his chest when she walked past him, completely unaware of her presence. She had been helping out _everyone _in the Alliance army, even those who had defected from Faerghus and Adrestia. All who went to the counsellor received her guidance, and her advice would always be useful.

_Had he, or anyone else, even considered that she would need support and advice too?_

He made a decision there and then that he was going to provide her the support she had been giving to the others. If he had to rope the rest of the army into it, so be it.

_Byleth was just as human as the rest of them, after all._

Straightening himself out, he entered the cathedral, and approached the counsellor. After a few moments persuading them that he was actually not there to leave a note, but instead wished to help ‘shoulder the burdens and worries of his allies’, he found himself with the unanswered notes… Byleth’s notes.

“May I take these? I wish to help as best as I can, but I may need some time to consider how best to support my friends...”

“If you wish, Duke Riegan. I have noticed that these notes have constantly gone unanswered, but perhaps you could provide a different insight.”

So, he made his way to his room with the notes, and set them out on his desk. He decided to first focus on the most recent note (he was actually quite surprised but relieved that Byleth had gone through the effort of dating them all…)

_I believe this might sound petty, considering that we are at war with the Empire at the moment. When I was a mercenary, my father would help me with my hair. He would help to keep it under control, so it would not get in the way in battle, but he is no longer with the living, and I have no skill at managing hair. I have been finding it a hindrance when training as it is becoming longer and messier, and keeps getting in my face. That means it could be dangerous in an actual combat situation… I would appreciate some help._


	2. Useful vanity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Claude wants Byleth to admit to him that she just wants a haircut, as per her note.

Byleth sighed as she looked at the meal set out before her. War had impacted availability of resources, in turn meaning that food available was mostly the bare essentials. Sure, she enjoyed the basics... but after a year of teaching at Garreg Mach, and experiencing a variety of delicious and almost extravagant meals compared to what she had been used to, reverting back was... difficult.

She had a plate of fish, potatoes, and carrots, and she honestly had to hand it to the dining hall staff, they had done their best to make the meal special. The fish has been cooked with lemon and pepper, whilst the potatoes were mashed and buttery. The carrots were a bit watery and like rubber, however.

Not that she cared. She was going to eat it all anyway, she was feeling particularly hungry that day.

“Ah, my friend, there you are!” Byleth was disturbed from ever-so-gracefully shovelling her food into her mouth as Claude settled himself down next to her with his own food. “I've been looking for you everywhere today!”

_Lies. She had seen him following her around for most of the day. The dash of yellow from his clothes wasn’t hard to miss._

“Nice to see you too, Claude.” After speaking, she slowed down her pace of eating. Not out of manners, but rather due to the ache in her throat from her previous mountain of a spoonful. “So, do you need me for anything?”

Claude smiled, and rested his head on his arm as he leaned against the table with his elbow. He turned to face her, and finally spoke. “People have been telling me to give you their thanks. You’re always helping them in your free time,” he began, before sitting up straight and holding his hand out as he started to list things. “You helped Hilda with gathering supplies. Flayn is overjoyed by the flowers which you gifted her. In turn, Seteth is happy that Flayn is happy. You’ve supported Felix in his training and acting a bit more like a normal human. Marianne is _overjoyed _at the fact that you helped her with Dorte. Need I go on?”

“To be fair Claude, I did that even when I was a professor.” By this point, Byleth’s plate was clean aside from a few carrots which were too tough for her to eat properly. She appeared ready to leave, but Claude placed his hand on her shoulder and kept her seated.

“Byleth. At war, such kindness is almost unheard of. It really does mean a lot, to all of us.” He then closed his eyes, and sighed. “Look, what I’m getting at is… Is there anything we- _I _can do for you?”

For a moment, Byleth paused. She didn’t quite know how to react to such an offer, she was too used to being asked to help people out.

“It doesn’t have to be anything big, you know.” By this point, Claude was dropping subliminal hints to Byleth. He knew that she wanted help with her hair, just she didn’t know he was aware of that. One of such hints was allowing the strand of hair which at one point would have been braided to fall in front of his face, before letting out a puff of air to move it away.

“I suppose there is something...” Claude could see her fidgeting slightly, as though she was debating whether to say it or not. “My hair is getting really annoying. I don’t like tying it up and it’s getting too long. I noticed when I was training with Felix before, when he said I should get it out of the way.”

“You… want a haircut?”

“… Yes. But that’s quite… vain, considering we’re at war. Surviving should come before vanity...”

Claude scoffed. “Hey, do you have any idea how long it takes to look _this good _when in the battlefield? I’d say it’s saved my sorry backside quite a few times! A haircut takes barely any time compared to my daily routine.”

Now Byleth raised an eyebrow. “So you’re admitting that you’re vain?”

“There’s no harm in being selfish from time to time- Wait, you’re trying to change the topic to focussing on me. Even though I did start the topic change,” Claude sighed, and winked at Byleth. “Look, just go and wash your hair. I’ll give you a haircut when I’ve ate. You’re not allowed to say no, either. I’ll meet you at your room.”

  


* * *

* * *

  


Claude tapped his foot as he sat at Byleth’s desk, waiting for his former professor to arrive. Sure, he had rushed eating to get to her room to fulfil one of her requests, especially considering that he also made a diversion to his room to mostly undress so that he was now only wearing a shirt, trousers and his boots, but it surely didn’t take _this _long…

After what felt like an eternity, the door opened and Byleth emerged, wearing just a shirt and shorts. “Sorry… Hilda and Dorothea didn’t give me much of a choice and made me bathe with them. I only wanted to do my hair but things dragged out…”

He could certainly tell. There was a sweet smell like vanilla in the room, presumably from some of Hilda’s fancy soaps which she brought from home. “Anyway… you still up for a haircut?” He stood up, and smiled. “Though I have to say, your hair looks lovely as it is.”

“Drenched and stuck to my back, with the water soaking through my shirt?”

“No, long. I quite like it long like this...” He went over to her, and ran his hand through some of the strands. “The water makes it appear quite a bit longer.”

“Maybe after the war I’ll keep it long… For now though, I’ll take you up on the haircut… I can certainly trust your judgement of hairstyles compared to_ others_.”

“You know you can just say Lorenz, right?” The pair had a good laugh for a moment then, not over the thought of Lorenz trying to do Byleth’s hair, but over the strangeness of the man’s hair over the years. “Now, why don’t you find somewhere to get comfy?”

Byleth nodded, her face looking slightly flushed, before sitting down on her bed. Claude questioned this choice, over the possibility of hair getting all over her bedsheets, but eventually he gave up with her stubbornness and went to sit behind her. He had cut his own hair in the past, and had even been asked by people such as Hilda to help with haircuts, so he certainly knew what he was doing.

As much as she didn’t want to admit it, Byleth quite liked the feeling of Claude sat behind her, combing through her hair to get rid of any knots and tangles. It was highly comforting, especially with the way he was gently handling her. Sure, her father had done this for her before, but he was a bit rougher due to the way she fidgeted as a child and teen.

Soon enough, Claude sighed. “I quite miss your blue hair, Byleth… Do you ever find yourself missing it?” She nodded slightly in one of the moments he wasn’t handling her hair, before he continued. “If I suddenly found my hair a completely different colour than I was used to, I’d certainly be in shock. But then again, I highly doubt I’d end up in a situation where I’d need the power of some form of omnipotent being to save me.”

After that, the pair returned to silence as Claude finished combing out Byleth’s hair. Once that was done, he smiled and took hold of the scissors which he had brought with him. She noticed this, and mentally braced herself. This would be the first time in years that she was going to have a haircut, and the first time she hadn’t been given one by her father.

Despite this, she never noticed Claude carefully cut through a small part of hair hair until he showed her the part he had cut. “Is this short enough for you, or would you prefer your hair shorter?”

Her eyes briefly widened, before a gentle smile formed on her hair. “I’ll trust your judgement, just as long as it’s not too short...”

“Excellent choice, my friend.”

  


* * *

* * *

  


Monday morning quickly arrived, and Byleth overslept for the first time. She had woke up, got dressed, and went to the dining hall. It was completely empty, but there was a meal set aside for her. The dining staff kept whispering as she ate, occasionally pointing in her direction. It was only when she had finished that they informed her that everyone else had gathered for the daily tactics session.

That was enough of a shock to make her run up to the first floor of the monastery, as although she had taken in the other obvious signs that she had overslept, that warning had been what made it sink in.

Byleth was out of breath when she pushed the doors open, and surprised everyone with the loud slam noise which it made.

“Sorry I’m late, I…” She took a moment to catch her breath. “I slept in by accident.”

After her apologies, everyone settled back in, and Byleth made her way to her usual seat next to Claude at the foot of the table. On her way though, she realised that people’s eyes were on her. She believed that Sylvain even winked at her at one point too.

When sat down, Claude leaned in to her ear to whisper to her. “You look good today, friend. Everyone’s attention is on you.”

“All thanks to you, Claude. I feel I might have to enlist your hairdressing services in the future.”

“If that is what you wish.” He then sat up straight again, his next words going unheard. “For you, Byleth… I’ll do anything.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Coming up next is Claude dealing with Byleth's next note... I've got a few ideas, I'm just contemplating which of them it should be...


	3. Appearances are everything

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Claude recruits Hilda to assist in his next mission to provide Byleth with the support she wanted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's taken so long to update this!
> 
> Here's the next chapter~

_New clothes are a luxury at times like this. Materials and fabrics, and even things such as needles and thread are difficult to obtain. My clothes are on the verge of being ruined though. I have only one outfit which I can wear, which is what I woke up in by that stream a few months ago. It still smells like that water. All the rest have been ruined by damp and moths in the five years I was gone. I don’t know what to do. Do I continue to wear my one suitable outfit, or ask Claude whether I can use some of our extremely limited war funds towards another set of clothes?_

  
  


* * *

* * *

  
  


Claude had a deep frown on his face as he looked at the next one of the notes left by Byleth. He hadn’t realised that Byleth was struggling with regard to clothes, but he knew it made sense based on evidence available. When everyone’s clothes were washed, she would shut herself away until she got her clothes back, and he had only ever seen her wear her tights, shorts, short and other usual additions. It was always some sort of variation of that outfit.

He was annoyed at himself for not realising earlier.

His frown grew deeper then, knowing that if the possibility of new clothes were brought up to her, she would start again on it being vain, and a bad idea when supplies were scarce. She was extremely stubborn, after all.

He knew that he couldn’t just buy her some clothes though – she was closely monitoring the army's finances, and almost any little thing got ran past the two of them. If either one of them said no to buying something, then it was a no.

_However, it wouldn’t take long for him to get an idea. _

He felt a tap on his shoulder before somebody sat opposite him at the little table he had taken over in the library. “Claude?” the playful voice made him raise an eyebrow, before he lowered the paper. Hilda was sat there, leaning on her hands as she glanced at him. “I need to ask something. I’ve already ran it by the Professor, so I need to ask you now.”

Claude placed the paper down, and straightened his posture. “How will you be draining us of our resources today, Hilda?”

Hilda frowned, and kicked at Claude’s shin. “I am not draining us of resources! As you know, I am not just a delicate maiden, but also talented in crafts such as jewellery-making and stitching. A tradesperson arrived in Garreg Mach this morning and offered to sell me a lot of their fabrics for a discounted price. Can I buy them? It could be useful around Garreg Mach, you know... fixing the tapestries, curtains, people’s clothes, and-"

Claude jumped up, his eyes wide in surprise. “If I say yes, will you do me a favour?”

“Um... It depends on what the favour is.”

“Read that note. It was left by Teach with the cathedral counsellor. You may be the only person who can help with this. I'll even allow extra funds for the materials if you can help me.”

Hilda raised her eyebrow then, before picking up the piece of paper and reading the note. Eventually, her hand flew up to cover her mouth as it fell open. “The professor has no clothes to wear?!” she glanced up at Claude, her eyes wide. “Well, I suppose I have no other choice... Leave it to me, Mister Leader Man. I'll get the Professor some clothes sorted. But, I may need your help to do it.”

“... I’m already concerned.”

“There’s no need to be concerned! We just need to get her measurements. But you _are _the genius, Claude. I'm sure you can find a way.”

  
  


* * *

* * *

  
  


Claude spent an entire evening staring at Hilda’s list of required measurements so that she could get to work on making a new outfit for Byleth. Some seemed simple enough, such as her height. That was already documented in some of the Officer’s Academy files which had been preserved from before the war started.

Others were a bit more complicated. He needed to find out things such as the length of her arms and legs. He could possibly just watch her as she did some stretches before her daily training sessions, as well as when she would spar. He could attempt to compare the lengths to, say, one of the wooden swords which she would use.

But there were _some _measurements which he knew he would be well and truly unable to get without coming across as rude. He had already passed that task on to Dorothea, as he knew that she was scarily capable of finding out some of the more personal details such as that. He had also made sure to tell her to not give him that information, and to pass it straight on to Hilda. He also had to assure her that he was not doing this for some form of perverted agenda.

Once those details had been gathered, Hilda had excitedly showed him some of the drawings she had been making of outfit ideas for Byleth. She didn’t let him have a say on any of them, but he had to complement her on how passionate she was to helping the ‘Get Teach More Clothes’ cause.

Then he had to wait. Three days, Hilda had told him. So he waited three days.

After breakfast on the third day, that was when Hilda approached him with a tired smile, and hands covered in a multitude of cuts and pinpricks.

“It’s finally done… I don’t think my body is going to forgive me for how long I’ve spent on making that outfit though. It’s all worth it though! Of anyone here, it’s the Professor who _needs _new clothes more than anyone. Her usual clothes smell like dirty water.”

Claude had the widest grin on his face when Hilda told him that it was all done, before he placed a hand on her shoulder. “You, Hilda Valentine Goneril, are a miracle-worker. I swear, I’ll make this up to you. But first… Can I see it?”

Hilda shook her head, but at the same time, was drinking up all the praise she could get. “You can see it soon. Not yet though! We just have to wait for a few more-!” The doors to the dining hall opened, and much to Claude’s surprise, Byleth was the one who stepped inside. “Oh! She’s wearing them already!”

Claude raised an eyebrow, before realising that Hilda was right. Byleth was wearing a new outfit… And she… Well, one of the very few words he could think of was ‘radiant’.

“Professor! Hey, Professor! Come and show Claude your new outfit!” Hilda was waving her arms around, and Byleth noticed, and made her way over to them both. “So, Professor… How do you like the clothes? It was Claude’s idea, and by the looks of things, he likes it!”

For some reason, Claude could feel his face heating up. He also felt the desire to rush away as fast as he could before he would do anything which could embarrass himself. Unfortunately, he couldn’t. Hilda kicked at his ankle as soon as she could tell he was having such ideas.

Byleth’s dress seemed quite simple, it reminded him of the summer outfit which would be worn at the Officer’s Academy by the female students. Except the skirt was a black colour rather than tan, with all sorts of golden embroidery.

“I love it… Thank you for spending so much time on this, Hilda. I have been needing a new outfit for some time, so it’s appreciated,” Byleth began, a wider smile creeping onto her face. Then it faded as she looked at Claude, and folded her arms over. “And Claude, I think that we need to have a talk about money. You see, asking Hilda to craft this wonderful outfit will have taken up quite a lot of time, and she deserves to be compensated for all of her hard work… But our army happens to be short of funds, because of somebody, I don’t know, allowing for extra money for materials to be bought. We can’t be expecting Hilda to be doing things like this for free now, can we?”

“I’ll, um… I’ll see what money I can get together...”


	4. Innocence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Byleth's next request is one which Claude finds difficult to fulfil - but how could he show everyone that their allies were not enemies, if even he wasn't completely persuaded of their intentions?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is... A lot longer than I intended for it to be. And I've had a block in the middle of writing this so I started this chapter a few weeks ago but only picked it back up and finished it today...
> 
> Also this chapter was part inspired by the immense guilt I feel whenever I kill Ferdinand when I've not recruited him when I know for a fact I wouldn't have had to kill him and have now sworn that he will be my next 3h husband once I've got Felix's s support-

_Ashe and Ferdinand are not our enemies... How can nobody else see that? I understand that everyone is sceptical over their presence, but they truly do not mean any harm to us._

  
  


* * *

* * *

  
  


Claude was stunned with the next one of the notes, and had to re-read it another two, possibly three more times. All of her other notes up to that point had been, in her words, ‘selfish'. But this note? It was showing the care and love which Byleth had for all of her former students.

He hated, however, that he found it hard to agree with what Byleth had said. Yes, Ashe and Ferdinand were officially part of the army, but they were enemies who defected in the midst of battle. What could be said of that other than ‘suspicious'? In particular Ferdinand... He was a general in Edelgard's army – she wouldn’t have allowed him to leave as easily as he did unless there was a reason. A plot.

But he could tell that the situation was bothering Byleth if she had written about it.

So, he felt he had no other choice – he would just have to potentially put himself in danger to determine whether their allegiance to the army was a farce, or a genuine change of heart. It felt like an obligation to confirm it... he was an outsider himself at one point, after all. If they truly had good intentions, and were being pushed away despite that, he would be no better than those who had isolated him.

His first opportunity to investigate was at the evening meal of that day. Everyone had gathered to eat, but there were clear divides in the room. Namely that Ashe and Ferdinand were isolated from everyone else, the only exceptions being Byleth, Dorothea, and Ingrid.

Despite his reluctance, Claude directed himself over to that isolated table in the corner of the room, and joined the five who were sat there.

“Oh, how unusual. Nice of you to join us, Claude,” Byleth smiled, before tucking some of her shortened hair behind her ear. “Did Hilda kick you off the table for having not paid her yet?”

“I_ have _paid her, thank you very much. I had to travel to Derdriu to get some of my personal savings to pay her...” He muttered in response, shaking his head as he grabbed hold of a fork. “No, I chose to sit here because I feel it’s my duty to see how everyone is doing, especially as we get further along in this war.”

For what may have been the first time _ever, _Claude noticed Ingrid smile and nod in his direction.

“I speak to Teach a lot anyway, same with Dorothea and Ingrid. So... how about you two? How are you feeling here?” Claude looked at both Ashe and Ferdinand directly in the eyes as he had a mouthful of fish, to see how they would react to his question.

Ashe was, surprisingly, the first one to speak. “I... I always wanted to be on your side, similar to when we were in the Officer’s Academy. I am so happy that I can be here now, and fight alongside my friends against the Empire and all the cruel things they have done, whilst protecting my siblings at the same time.” Claude nodded along silently, picking up the determination in his voice and the genuineness of his facial expression. “I must admit though... I do find it a bit tough here. I believe that people don’t trust me well enough as I was your enemy in battle when the Professor allowed me to join you all, but I've never been more certain about something in my life.”

After that, Ashe smiled at Claude before he continued eating.

The one conclusion which Claude could draw from that was that Ashe was doing what he believed was right and justified, and would support his family. It would be a long shot to call him an enemy. However, Claude still felt it would be worth watching over him for a few days just to be certain.

Then there was Ferdinand. Dorothea was giving him a concerned look as he slowed down eating, and looked down at the plate.

“Ferdie?”

“Sorry... I am far from sure about how I feel at present. Leaving the empire was very much an on-the-spot decision. But I know that I cannot follow Edelgard and her ideals.” Ferdinand let go of his cutlery, before standing up. “I need some fresh air.”

Dorothea was quick to follow after him, leaving the table they had been sat at awkwardly silent.

“I didn’t have any bad intentions over my question... I swear.”

Ingrid finally spoke up then. “We know that, Claude... It may just be a difficult time for Ferdinand. His former friends are now his enemies, and many of his new allies are ignoring him. That, and his father was killed by angry civilians a few weeks ago, so he is likely to be still grieving too.”

“Don’t worry about it, Claude. You're trying to build bridges, and I'm sure that Ferdinand will be confident to speak with you once he has had time to think,” Byleth smiled, before standing up herself and grabbing hold of her empty plate. “I'll be at the training grounds if people need me.”

  
  


* * *

* * *

  
  


The next few days went quite quickly. Claude continued to monitor over the new pair during tactics meetings and training sessions. He had made many notes about the pair during his observations.

His key note was that Ashe was certainly an ally. People were opening up to him, and he was opening up to others. He was honest, and worked hard.

Ferdinand, however, was a bit more of a mystery. The only people that he would speak to were Byleth, Dorothea, and the other Adrestian defectors. Flayn would sometimes hover around him when he was preparing his armour. He would only talk to others if deemed necessary.

He was quiet, and almost nothing could get him out of his shell. Even the offer of tea with Byleth couldn’t get him to open up.

Claude did feel some sympathy for him – but at the same time wanted to establish his status as a true ally or enemy.

On the Thursday of that week, Claude had to stop his observations. He had to focus on his own training, and not just on Ferdinand and Ashe. Soon the army would be marching upon Gronder Field, and would no doubt clash with the Empire’s army either there, or just beyond.

As proficient as he was with a bow, Claude recalled something which Byleth had taught him and his fellow Golden Deer back when they were students – it's all well and good using what you’re good at in combat, but you must be prepared to change if circumstances call for it.

The past few times he had fought, he had found himself a bit too close for comfort with enemies wielding swords and such, meaning that he would repeatedly have to call for his wyvern to back up in order to use his bow properly. So, he decided that that day was to be dedicated to using an axe.

Whilst he was using one of the training dummies, Claude heard somebody else come into the training grounds. He noticed that it was just one of the lower ranked soldiers, by the looks of things, one of the ones which had come from a house bordering the Empire, such as Ordelia or Gloucester. They happened to be training with a bow, which did make him consider going to seek out his own bow to train with that instead, but he luckily stopped himself before he did so.

For a good while, both Claude focussed as best as he could on his axe training. He did the best he could to focus on his grasp and his swing. He started out as somewhat clumsy, but eventually began to get the hang of it.

When he was _really _into it though, the soldier who was training caught his eye. Namely because of how terrible a shot they were. But for all that he knew, they could be using the same reasoning behind him training with the axe.

Then an arrow landed beside the training dummy which he was using.

“Oh no! I apologise, Duke Riegan… I am still in the beginner stages of learning the bow. I’ll try to work on my aim.”

Then a further three arrows landed by the training dummy.

At that point, Claude was close to offering to give the soldier lessons on aiming with a bow, and went to turn around to ask if they needed help. That, it turned out, was a mistake. Not as much of a mistake as _not _turning around would have been, but still a mistake. The soldier who had been terrible with the bow was now stood right behind him, the bow discarded on the floor further back, but with a dagger in their hand.

And the dagger was being held right against his throat.

“W- Whoa, how about you put that-!” Before he could finish the sentence, he could feel the cold edge of the blade against his skin. That was when he put the pieces together – the person wasn’t a bad shot, nor were they training. They were an assassin from the Empire, and had been trying to off him using the bow… And they weren’t a bad shot – they had only been missing him because he had been moving whilst he was doing his own training.

“Drop the weapon.”

Purely out of the interests of self-preservation, Claude obliged, and released his grasp of the training axe. He’d been through these sorts of situations time and time again, both in Almyra and in Fódlan. He knew that he needed to just stall for time, and create an opening to slip away-

“Lord Vestra told us that you are a schemer, so don’t even think of trying to escape. We’ve got contingencies for if you even try.”

He silently gulped, and did his best not to move his head too much just in case he unintentionally hurt himself on the weapon threatening him. “H- Hubert, huh...” He then gritted his teeth in annoyance – Hubert had managed to get spies in around Garreg Mach.

_Of course he had…_

As all of this happened, the doors to the training grounds quietly opened as Ferdinand entered. He hadn’t noticed at first what was happening, until he saw a bow and arrows recklessly abandoned on the floor. He shook his head for a moment, knowing that they would already be damaged based on the chipped wood on them, before looking around to see if the culprit of the abandoned weapon was still present.

Then he saw Claude, with a blade against his throat.

He locked eyes with the army’s leader, who was staring straight at him, before seeing Claude’s hand twitching slightly. He followed the direction of the hand movements, before his eyes met with a pristine looking lance. It didn’t take long for him to get what Claude was hinting at, so he nodded and silently went about retrieving the weapon.

Once Claude knew that Ferdinand had the weapon, he began to try and distract the assassin before they harmed him. “H- Hey, before you kill me, could you just oblige me a final wish?”

“No.”

“That’s harsh...” He sighed quietly, and at the same time gave Ferdinand a subtle thumbs up. “I just wanted to ask if you could pass my regards on to Ferdinand.”

“What-?!” At that moment, Claude quickly stepped back, whilst Ferdinand hit the assassin over the top of the head with the lance to knock them out.

The next few moments were a mixture of panic and adrenaline as they waited to make sure that the assassin was unconscious, until finally, Claude let out a deep breath he had been holding in. “Phew… Glad that’s over,” he began, before smiling at Ferdinand. “I can’t thank you enough for helping me out there, my friend.”

  
  


* * *

* * *

  
  


That evening, after the dining hall had closed and meals had been ate, an emergency meeting was arranged for all prominent members of the Church-Alliance army to attend. It had been difficult to get everyone into the Cardinals’ Room, as there were more people than seats, but eventually everyone was present. Once more, he noticed that there were distinct divides. Namely that Ferdinand was the only person isolated from everyone else. Even Ashe was able to integrate with the others, but Ferdinand had been pushed away.

“I apologise for this gathering being last minute and quite late, but I deemed it necessary for many reasons… Please bear with me for the next few minutes, than you can all return to your normal business,” Claude began, stood at the foot of the table, Byleth happening to be sat at his side. There was hushed chatter for a moment, so he held up his hand to bring about silence and keep everyone’s attention. “As you all likely know, a spy from the Empire managed to get into the grounds of Garreg Mach earlier today-”

Just the mention of ‘Empire’ and ‘spy’ had started off quiet mumblings, and glances being cast in Ferdinand’s general direction. Claude rolled his eyes and tutted.

Byleth noticed that Claude seemed agitated, so she also stood up and tapped her hands against the table. “Quieten down. Please listen to Claude, or there will be extra duties handed out for Sunday’s free time.” Her threat seemed to be enough to get everyone to finally grow silent, which led to Claude smiling and thanking her.

“Yes… As I was saying… A spy from the Empire got into Garreg Mach, and there was an attempt at my life. You have all heard as such, as it was a very… prominent topic of conversation this evening. As you also may know, they have been apprehended. But that is not why I have called you all here.”

Everyone gave Claude a confused look at that point.

“I have heard many of you suggesting that Ferdinand was working with this person, and implying that he was a double-agent of sorts,” he then folded his arms over, closed his eyes, and frowned. “I would like everyone here to know, and to let others know, that this is _false. _Were it not for Ferdinand, I would have died. He is _not _a traitor, or anything of the sort. It is about time that we break down the prejudice that just because somebody is from the Empire, that they are loyal to the Empire. There are people from all walks of life here, and we are all here for one reason – we want to bring peace to Fódlan. If we can’t keep the peace here in Garreg Mach, how can we expect to keep the peace for a whole country?”

After he had finished speaking, there were a quiet commotion as people whispered amongst one-another, and a few people apologising to Ferdinand.

Eventually, people began to dissipate, which made Claude exhale as he sat down. Soon enough, the only people remaining were himself, Byleth, and Ferdinand. Ferdinand made a quick expression of thanks to Claude, before he too left.

That just left him alone with Byleth, who was leaning on her elbow on the table, and giving him a slight smile. “That was quite the speech there, Claude. I’m impressed – since when did you become such an inspiring leader?”

Claude then raised an eyebrow, before a slight smile formed on his face. “Well, as somebody who was seen as an outsider – and at times still is… I couldn’t stand seeing somebody else be turned into an outcast. Ferdinand is a great guy, and didn’t deserve to be treated the way that he was.”

Byleth nodded along, before she closed her eyes and hummed. “Your speech reminded me of something too… After we first met, and you were talking about Garreg Mach...”

“Ah… Fódlan in a nutshell. It really is… Even now.”

“Agreed.” Byleth was silent for a moment, before she stood up and smiled. “I’m glad that you spoke up about how people were treating Ferdinand. At first I was so, what’s the word... _worried _for both him and Ashe, because people were avoiding them, but seeing Ashe eventually be accepted whilst Ferdinand was kept at arm’s distance...” She then began to walk away, but not before turning back to him. “Thank you, Claude.”

Eventually, after he thought over her words for a moment, his eyes grew wide. He hadn’t even realised it, but he had managed to fulfil another of Byleth’s requests. Even though he hadn’t even been trying to, and had almost been killed in the process… He had still managed to do it.

The thought that he had actually fulfilled the request played though his mind as he left the main building of the Monastery, and returned to his room. Once there, he sat down at his desk, and happily picked up the paper. He had to admit, moving it over to the stack of ‘completed’ messages brought a grin to his face.

Out of curiosity though, he picked up the next unfulfilled request, and straight away felt guilty.

  
  


_I’ve been able to have some tea with everyone but Claude since I returned. He’s always busy. How can I persuade him to give up a bit of time just to catch up?_


	5. Most unusual place for a tea party? Claude's room.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Claude proposes that he and Byleth have a tea party. Little does he know that Byleth is beginning to figure out what he has been doing for her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One of my favourite things is Claude and Byleth being supportive of each other even when they're unsure of/concealing their feelings  
Hell, just being supportive of each other in general
> 
> And I thought that because it's my birthday tomorrow I'll throw in some domestic fluff vibes just for the sake of self-indulgence-
> 
> Heck yeah

“Hello there, my friend. Do you have any plans for today?”

It was the Sunday after Claude had _almost _been killed by the spy from the Empire, and as such, people were on high alert and on the lookout. Despite this, Claude had still managed to sneak up on Byleth as she went about on her usual ‘talk to everyone’ stroll around the monastery.

That lack of judgement had led to a weapon being pointed at his throat for the second time that week.

Upon hearing his voice from out of nowhere, Byleth had turned around in a panic after grabbing the dagger she always had around her waist. When she realised that it was just Claude, she sighed and rolled her eyes. “Do you get a thrill out of being almost killed, Claude?”

“I wouldn’t say that I do, but it seems to keep happening...” he laughed awkwardly as Byleth put her dagger away. She then folded her arms, and tilted her head whilst her lips pursed together in the exact same way that she would when he was her student, when she was trying to read between the lines. “As I was asking before you tried to injure me though, do you have any plans for today?”

Byleth brought one of her hands up to her chin as she took a moment to think. Just that little action would have been enough to make his schoolboy-self’s heart explode. Even now, he could feel his heart racing and face growing warm, though he was unsure if that was to do with his feelings from when he was a student, or the excitement that he could be fulfilling another of her requests without her knowing that he was aware of them.

“Other than going to visit my parents, I don’t have any plans... Everyone is so busy preparing for our march on Gronder Field, it’s difficult to make plans with anyone.”

“Then how about, when you have visited the graveyard, we have one of your famous tea parties, for old times' sake?”

Byleth paused for a moment, before a slight smile formed on her face. “That would be nice... You’re the only person I haven’t had tea with since I returned. But where? I would normally hold them in the courtyard or in my room, but my room is in a state and, well... the courtyard is filled with supplies for the battle.”

Claude smiled back at her, feeling quite proud of himself – he had tidied up his mess of strategies and poisons in his room in preparation for this day. “My room is in a habitable state for once, so perhaps there?”

“Your room? Habitable? Now that is something I need to see. I'll meet you there in about... twenty minutes.” Byleth then turned her back to Claude, and started to walk away. That was not before suddenly stopping and gasping. “Oh, and we may need the actual tea too, if you wouldn’t mind getting that.”

“Sure thing, friend. See you there.”

Once Claude had walked away, Byleth cast a small smile in the direction which he had walked in, before sighing and making her way to the graveyard. As soon as she knew that nobody was around her, she found he urge to laugh particularly irresistible.

Claude had just gone and confirmed her suspicions.

She had noticed him doing a few more trips to the Cathedral than usual recently. She also happened to notice that whenever she went to the Cathedral to talk to the counsellor in there, some of the notes which she had left had disappeared. She had asked who had taken the notes, but the counsellor said that those who would provide guidance or support regarding the notes are anonymous. But she had her suspicions that her missing notes, and Claude’s more frequent visits had to be connected.

She had in turn left another note there and a few days earlier, she had seen Claude do another of his visits. He left a few minutes later. A few days later, one of her other notes – about Ashe and Ferdinand being proven as allies – had been fulfilled. She knew that was completely unintentional, but the way in which it happened was _very _convenient.

Then, there was Claude asking her if she wanted tea. The note she had left to confirm her suspicions just so happened to be about Claude being busy, and her not being able to speak to him over tea. Now, he happened to have time, and seemed to have even tidied his usually catastrophic room in advance.

From that, things were beginning to make complete sense. She had asked for help regarding her hair and her clothes, and Claude had managed to sort those problems out too.

Whilst she was answering the notes left behind by the others in the army, Claude was providing support with hers. And it… it certainly made her feel emotions she had never really felt before. Her eyes were watering whilst she couldn’t fight off the smile on her face.

Nobody had _ever _helped her in this sort of way before, aside from Jeralt back before they arrived at Garreg Mach. For what may have been one of the first times in her life… she felt that she belonged here. And all because Claude had decided to acknowledge a few little requests she had written down.

  
  


* * *

* * *

  
  


Claude had began to notice that though he was patient, he couldn’t be patient for long with matters regarding Byleth. He had barely even gotten everything together in his room for the planned tea party before he found himself sat at his desk tapping his foot and hoping that Byleth would just hurry up already.

It had barely been fifteen minutes since he spoke to her, and there was no doubt she would like to take a few minutes when visiting her parents just to think about things.

As he did his best to forget about the fifteen minutes which had felt like an eternity, he began to glance around his room. It was, compared to the other rooms, rather neat and pulled together. If you didn’t take into account a few of the shattered windows, crumbling walls, and the yellow rug stained with a variety of different poisons he had concocted over the past few months.

He leaned back against the desk slightly, which resulted in a very unwelcome creaking and splintering noise. He quickly stood up, looking to see whether it was about to collapse, before sighing when he realised it was the seat he had been sat on – not the desk. However, he did realise that the notes he had collected from the counsellor were still on it, resulting in him quickly grabbing them and stuffing them into a drawer… just as Byleth opened the door.

“Claude?”

“Hah… J-Just give me one second, Teach...” He frantically slammed the drawer shut, and turned the key which kept it locked. “Phew… Sorry about that. I just realised that I hadn’t put away one of the poisons which I made. Happens to look a lot like water, and I doubt we would be wanting to drink that...”

Byleth raised an eyebrow as Claude did his best to keep his cool, before a grin crept onto her face. “You chose your favourite tea, didn’t you?” Claude followed Byleth’s line of sight towards the tea supplies he had gathered, making him awkwardly laugh.

“Yeah, I guess that I did. I tried to see if I could find your favourite, but… I don’t even know if you have one. You always have whatever the person you are having tea with wants.”

“I must admit, I don’t really have a favourite type of tea… I do like most types I have had over the years though. My only preference with how tea tastes is not to have it as sweet as Lysithea likes hers.” Claude nodded along as Byleth spoke, before he sat down on his bed and patted the space beside him. She sat down where he had indicated, before laughing quietly. “I do have a favourite way to have tea though...”

Claude raised an eyebrow, which she noticed before she closed her eyes and hummed slightly. “With my favourite Alliance duke, of course.”

“And who might that be?” Claude sent a mischievous grin in Byleth’s direction as she laughed and rolled her eyes.

After that, the two were mostly quiet, having run out of any sort of playful banter to keep the light-hearted mood up. During this time they were able to finish brewing the tea and pour themselves each a cup. Even once they started drinking, things were quiet, until eventually, Claude sighed.

“You’ve been back for so many months now, Byleth… Even now it feels like a dream that you’re sitting right beside me. But you are here… You are real...” His voice was almost like a whisper as he placed his cup down, doing his best to avoid eye-contact with her. “I grew so used to the thought of you not returning because everyone was telling me that would be the case. If you had never shown up that day of the reunion… I probably would have given up. Given up my hopes of you returning… My hopes of seeing my dreams become reality… On Fódlan, even.”

Byleth frowned as she too placed her cup down, before reaching out for his hand. “You don’t have to worry, Claude… I’m here. I’m here, I’m real, and I have no intention of leaving at any time soon. I’ll be by your side for however long you need me.” Just the simple combination of her words, and the slight squeeze of her fingers between his sent an overwhelming sense of relief flooding through his body.

“Teach… No, Byleth...” Claude had to quickly bring his free hand to his face to cover his eyes for a moment, before he squeezed her hand back. “You have no idea how much that means to me.”

At that moment, Byleth wanted to remark about how everything he had done for her over the past few weeks had meant a lot to her too, but decided to hold back – it wasn’t often that Claude had an outpouring of emotions, and it was clear that getting it out had been quite the relief to him.

Slowly, she pulled her hand free from his, before returning to her drink of tea. “You know, if you ever need somebody to talk to, my door will always be open. Bring some tea if you need to...”

Claude glanced over to her, and smiled as he watched her rather ungracefully drink the last of her tea as though it were a pint of alcohol. She then placed the cup down, before smiling back at him. “More tea?”

“Sure,” Byleth nodded, before reaching out for the pot of tea before realising that it was actually empty – Claude had only brought enough water earlier for just one drink each. “You got everything together before, so I’ll get some more water for the tea now. I’ll be back in a few minutes.” She picked up the pot, before waving at him and leaving the room.

That left Claude alone with his thoughts, and the happy feeling in his chest from her offer of her door always being open to him… He didn’t believe that she had extended the courtesy to anyone else, based on the movements and behaviours of their allies. He actually felt quite humbled at being the only one she had trusted with that honour. She had given his ego _quite _the boost over this tea party.

Obviously though, he wouldn’t take advantage of her offer. He wouldn’t want to be seen as opportunistic or love-stricken – as per some of the rumours which were already spreading through Garreg Mach ever since the haircut and the new outfit. No, he needed to quell the fuels of those fires before they grew out of hand. And before Byleth hears of them.

He leaned back on his bed, and eventually, found himself lying down. Once more, he could feel his impatience trying to get the best of him, so he started to hum to himself to try and distract himself until Byleth returned with the new water for more tea. As he did this, his eyes kept fixating on different markings on the ceiling – mostly from where he could see slabs of stone joined together, and where water had leaked between the wooden supports holding the stone up.

His eyes soon grew tired.

By the time that Byleth returned, he had drifted off into a light sleep. She placed the pot of water down, and just in case, waved her hand in front of his face to make sure he wasn’t pretending. When she realised that he actually was asleep, she quietly chuckled.

“Oh Claude...” She then noticed he still had his gloves and some armour over his shoulder, so she did her best to unbuckle the armour and place it on his desk, before removing his gloves and placing them neatly beside it. “It’s about time you rest… You’ve done a lot for us- for _me_ over these past few weeks, and you deserve to rest...”

She carefully adjusted the blankets over Claude, before she went over to his desk, picked up a piece of scrap parchment and a pen, before writing a short note for him.

_Claude, you fell asleep before I returned. I’ve left the tea supplies with you though, so you can have a nice drink when you wake up. I hope you rested well – you clearly needed it._

_PS – I feel inclined to say that Almyran Pine Needle is quickly becoming one of my favourite teas when I have it with you. Let’s share some more again after the upcoming battle._

After she placed the note down, she went and blew out the candles around the room, before walking over to the door. She looked back towards the bed briefly, where she could now only see the silhouette of Claude’s body under the sheets.

“Good night, Claude… Thank you for all you’ve done for me...”


	6. After Gronder Field

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Away from Garreg Mach, after the Leicester Alliance and Church army emerge victorious in the battle at Gronder Field, Byleth is doing her best to downplay her injury from the healers. Claude sees right through her.

“No, Marianne… I’m far from the priority at the moment. There are others who need your support more than me. Keep them alive… Please,” Byleth whispered as Marianne was insisting that she looked at her burns from the recently won battle. “I am capable of basic first aid and white magic, I can care for myself...”

“Well… If you are so sure, Professor…” Marianne’s lips creased into a slight frown. “But please get me if you need any assistance. My duty as a healer is to everyone… you included.”

Byleth nodded, gave Marianne a reassuring smile as she went to leave the tent which Byleth was resting in. That gave her some peace and quiet… And time to figure out how on earth she was going to heal – and most importantly _hide – _the burns which were covering the arm which she used her sword with. How could she face up to the people she was supposed to protect and lead when she couldn’t even protect herself?

For a few minutes, she did her best to use the white magic that she knew to patch up her injuries, but didn’t get too far. She did get some relief from the pain she was feeling, however. After that, she went over to some of the medical supplies which Marianne had left for her, and did her best to use them. Mostly to no avail, as she needed both of her hands to use most of it.

Eventually, she groaned and sat down on the blankets which were on the floor. She took a deep breath, cleared her mind, and began to focus solely on using her white magic to heal the burns once more.

It was during this that Claude was passing the tent, and noticed how… quiet it was compared to elsewhere. In other tents there was talking, laughing, crying or screaming – a massive spectrum varying from joy to despair. He decided to peer in, hoping that there wasn’t somebody who had succumbed to their injuries inside.

He hadn’t been expecting to see a slightly teary Byleth doing her best to heal her painful looking burn.

“Hey… Teach?” He stepped inside, and watched as she wavered when she heard his voice. That… he didn’t like. She was doing it again – prioritising others over herself by refusing to ask for a healer. Just as she did with her hair… her clothes…

He frowned as her face seemed to scrunch up as she concentrated further on trying to heal the burns, and he saw her waver for a moment – as though she was on the verge of fainting.

“Byleth. Stop!” He had enough when he saw her arm that she was channelling magic through begin to tremble, so he walked over to her, crouched down, and pulled her arm away. “Stop that. You’re going to cause more damage to yourself if you continue.”

She remained silent for a moment, before her eyes slowly moved to meet his.

“Why haven’t you gone to find a healer?”

Byleth remained silent for a moment, before turning her head away. “Marianne was here… I sent her away to look after the others…”

“Byleth… You should have let her help.” He sat down beside her at that point, and looked at the arm which she had been attempting to heal. He… was horrified that she had turned Marianne away.

“I… know.” Claude hadn’t been expecting her to respond with that – but also knew that she wasn’t wanting to pull the healers’ attentions away from others who required medical attention.

Despite this, Claude managed to pull a smile onto his face, before noticing the medical supplies in front of her. “How about I try to help? I may not know healing magic, but I can certainly work my way around ointments and bandages.”

She looked over at him, her eyes welling up. “Just… Just don’t tell Marianne… I don’t want to upset her by letting her know that I hid how bad it is…”

“Got it,” he winked at her, which brought out a quiet chuckle from her. He loved the sound of her laugh. “Hold out your arm for me.”

The tent remained quiet as Claude began to figure out how best to help with tending to the burns without causing her too much pain. However, Byleth had been the one to break the silence.

“I… can’t believe that Edelgard would have done such a thing. Setting Gronder Field alight… that field feeds half of Fodl-ah! Ow…” She winced in pain for a moment, and then proceeded to turn away so that she couldn’t see how Claude was tending to her arm. “I… tried to save Bernadetta. That is when I got burned… I- I held out my hand for her, but then… then the flames… I don’t know if she…”

“You did your best, I’m sure. Please don’t let this hold you back, Byleth… I hate saying that the reality of war is that people die, but…” Claude fell silent, his attention now on covering her injury. “Say, Byleth… What do you say to having another tea party when we return to Garreg Mach?”

“I’d like that a lot… But I don’t know if I will be able to help until my arm has healed a bit more.”

“Well, I suppose that I will just have to accompany you so that we can pull it together.”

“Claude… You more or less organised our previous one, I should-“

“Nope. As leader of this army, I will not allow it. You, Byleth, are hereby on strict orders to rest and recuperate.” At this point, Claude had finished tending to her injury, and had covered her injuries as best as he could. “And done. It’s not as good as the healers could do it, but it will certainly last until we get home. I’ll ask Marianne to look at your arm properly when we get back.”

Byleth didn’t really process Claude saying that he had finished. She was too busy focussing on his orders to rest. She believed that now was _far _from the time to be resting. She didn’t _want _to be resting. She had spent the good part of five years sleeping, after all!

“Byleth… Look at me,” he eventually noticed that she was dwelling on his words, so he reached out for her chin and gently turned her face so that they were looking eye-to-eye once more. “I promise, you won’t be restricted to your room or anything of the like. You can stick around for the tactics meetings, and for the weapon tutoring. I know quite a few people value your input there. Just… try not to pick up a weapon whilst you heal up.” He smiled at her with what she realised was a genuine smile – one which came through his eyes – before he began to laugh to himself. “Actually… I have decided that I am going to stay with you whilst you rest. It’s the only way I can be assured that you will actually recover without doing what I said for you not to do.”

She raised an eyebrow. “But if you do that, you won’t be able to answer those notes that I left with the cathedral counsellor without me being aware that you have them.”

“I know- Wait, you… You figured that out?!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hehe, and now Claude knows that she knows!  
But alas, that won't stop Byleth from leaving notes... I intend for this fic to go on for a while, after all!!!


	7. An escape for the night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _“Claude… I don’t think that we can leave Garreg Mach this way. The only way out would be… down. And we just so happen to be at the top of some very sheer cliffs… Trust me when I say that I don’t want to fall again, nor do I want to end up in another five year-“_
> 
> _“Byleth. Do you trust me?”_
> 
> _“… With my life.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've actually updated something!!!
> 
> I've been trying to write for weeks, but I've been feeling drained - my work is very closely tied to a certain global event which I shall not say the name of here, but due to circumstances at work, I've been feeling mentally and physically drained most of the time. 
> 
> But don't worry! I finally found the time (and energy!) to get some fluffy moments between Byleth and Claude written out!
> 
> Stay safe everyone!!

_I want to escape Garreg Mach for one night. It gets tiresome with the surroundings being the same most of the time, especially given the ruined state of the buildings._

* * *

“So… I’ve decided that tonight, we shall be going on a little… adventure,” Claude grinned, watching as Byleth raised her eyebrow with suspicion whilst leaning against the wall beside her door. “As such… We are going to be needing these, because what’s an adventure without a little thrill?” He proceeded to pull out two dark cloaks out from behind his back, his smile turning into a sly smirk.

Byleth could only make a quiet snorting noise as she took one of the capes, before holding out her arm. “If I remember correctly, I received quite the extensive lecture from Seteth for keeping the extent of my injuries quiet, and that I need to rest my arm for a short while. If you help me with keeping the cloak in place as I fasten it, I won’t question your strange decision to go on an ‘adventure’,” she stated, which was followed by Claude rolling his eyes as he pulled the material over her shoulders.

“Don’t blame me for the eccentric idea, this is all on you and the notes you left with the counsellor. You wanted to ‘escape’ Garreg Mach for the night, so that is what we are doing,” he explained in response, releasing his grasp once her cloak was secure. “Trust me when I say that I have a plan on what we will be doing, and that I know you will enjoy each and every moment of it.”

“… Okay. I trust you. Though I have to ask… We can technically enter and leave the monastery whenever we want, so long as the gatekeeper is informed. What is the need for the cloaks?”

“I’m glad you asked, Teach. You’ll find out soon enough. Now come on, our ride awaits us.”

For a moment, Byleth was taken aback at what Claude had said, to the point that she silently mouthed the phrase ‘_our ride’_ with a hint of confusion. She didn’t have much time to dwell on what he said however, as he pulled up the hoods of both of their cloaks before taking hold of her hand and pulling her along by her good arm.

For a few moments, Byleth thought that perhaps Claude was taking a detour to reach the gates of the monastery so as to not rouse suspicion with anyone who may have been up and about at that point. He had guided her towards the training grounds, so she had been expecting to enter the entrance hall to head towards the exit, but instead ended up being led towards the cathedral. From that point, she felt a slight cold sweat at the back of her neck, wondering what on earth Claude’s plans happened to be. That, or it was because of the cold wind blowing at them from behind.

Eventually, Claude’s pace slowed down when they reached the Goddess Tower. Last time either of them had been there was the day of their fateful reunion, on the day of the Millennium Festival… That day had been filled with so much emotion and adrenaline, that both of them could feel their heartbeats racing as they approached the entrance simply because of the reminiscence.

“Claude… I don’t think that we can leave Garreg Mach this way. The only way out would be… down. And we just so happen to be at the top of some very sheer cliffs… Trust me when I say that I don’t want to fall again, nor do I want to end up in another five year-“

“Byleth. Do you trust me?”

“… With my life.”

“Good. I promise that there will be no falling today, so please continue to keep your trust in me now…” Claude tightened his grasp of Byleth’s hand as he used his other arm to push the old doors leading into the tower open, before he led them both outside. “We may need to wait a few minutes, but there will be a way out.”

Once at the top of the tower, Claude released his grasp of her hand before making his way over to the very place he had been stood when they had both reunited. Rather than turn back to Byleth however, he pulled his hood down before bringing his fingers to his lips and whistling loudly. Byleth walked over to his side, with his actions finally beginning to make sense.

“Wyvern?”

Claude’s silence spoke volumes, especially considering that it was paired up with a smirk and his eyes fixating in the general direction of the stables.

Just as expected, within a minute, Claude’s wyvern had joined the pair at the top of the tower. The creature gave off a few happy-sounding noises, followed by nuzzling against Claude’s hand as he offered her a few pieces of fruit he had scavenged from the dining hall that evening. “Good girl… You’ve healed up all nicely after the battle a few days ago, haven’t you? Thank you for coming… Would you like to go on a little ride with Byleth and myself?”

From the side-lines, Byleth raised her eyebrows once more as she watched Claude begin to talk to his wyvern, followed by him turning to face her with a grin. “You ready to escape Garreg Mach for the night?”

“As ready as I can be, I suppose… I don’t actually recall a time I have ever rode a wyvern before, however.”

“You’ll be riding with the best wyvern rider this side of the border, so you don’t have to worry about a thing,” Claude winked, before taking hold of her hand and leading her towards his wyvern. “The only thing you need to worry about is whether you sit in front of me, or behind. I’d recommend sitting in front, that way you don't have to worry about holding onto me given your injuries.”

“I… I’ll do that then.”

After a few minutes of Byleth getting used to being on a wyvern, Claude couldn’t help but wrap his arms around her from behind and smile into her shoulder. They hadn’t even started flying yet, but seeing Byleth trying to adjust in preparation for flying was actually quite endearing. He hadn’t even considered that she hadn’t flew before, but it made sense – not once when he or his fellow Golden Deer were students did she actively participate in any of the flying drills, that was mostly left to the likes of Seteth.

When in the air, Claude could tell straight away that Byleth had her usual straight-looking face, but she was giving off a few subtle hints of anxiety. She was repeatedly looking down at the ground below them, and once above the clouds, she tilted her head back and gulped. She also kept a firm grasp of his sleeves, almost to the point of her nails tearing through the cotton.

“Claude… it’s really cold up here…”

“That’s why I brought the cloaks. It can get cold in the skies, in particular at night. If you’re feeling too cold, we can try to get lower to the ground.”

“No, I’m fine… It’s just cold.”

Silently and carefully, Claude then moved his arms off the reins his wyvern had on, before moving his hands to Byleth’s in order to keep hold of them. “Want me to show you something which I love about being so high in the sky?” He whispered to her, lacing his fingers between hers. “Look at the stars… When it is cloudy or overcast, you can’t see them from the ground. But from up here…”

Byleth gulped once more, before slowly shifting her gaze upwards. Claude could feel his heart racing, in the hopes that the stars could help in calming her down. He almost let out a loud sigh of relief when her shoulders dropped and mouth opened slightly, whispering a few words of awe as she did so. “They’re beautiful… Is this what you wanted to do away from Garreg Mach?”

“Surprisingly, no… But it is a nice way to pass the time as we fly. We will be at our destination in a few short minutes, and I have a feeling you will enjoy this much more than looking at the stars.”

“I’ll hold you to that, Claude…”

The remainder of the pair’s time in the skies were mostly peaceful, with Byleth appearing fascinated at seeing the stars so much closer than when they were on the ground, and Claude taking in the happiness she was exuding.

_Perhaps just a midnight flight would have been enough to fulfil the next note… But he didn’t want the rest of his planning to go to waste._

After another few minutes of flying, the wyvern made a loud noise, which prompted Claude to let go of Byleth’s hands. Instead, he moved one hand to the reins, and the other wrapped around Byleth’s waist. He didn’t want her to feel as though they were falling as they descended from the sky, so that, in his opinion, was the best way to help her feel grounded even whilst they were still in the air.

Eventually, they were on the ground once more, and Claude almost straight away had to catch Byleth after she dismounted, forgetting that as it was her first time flying, she may not find it too easy transitioning between travelling in the air and on the ground. “I’ve got you, Byleth. Keep hold of my arms as long as you need whilst you get your footing…”

“Th… thanks, Claude…”

Once Byleth was steady, Claude took hold of Byleth’s hand once more, and gave it a gentle squeeze. “There’s only a short walk to get to where we need to be, so bear with me for another few minutes.”

Their surroundings were clearly that of a thicket, and it seemed to grow denser with every step they took. It was fortunate that they were accompanied by Claude’s wyvern, as she was eager to either use her wings to blow away leaves and twigs, whilst snapping off tree branches with her claws. There reached a point though where rather than becoming enveloped with more and more trees, they seemed to be growing sparse. That was when Byleth stopped walking, and tightened her grasp of Claude’s hand.

“We… aren’t going in a circle, are we? I would rather not be lost.”

“I know where we’re going, By. I’ve been here before, and if my hearing isn’t deceiving me… we are almost there.” He could faintly hear water, which was the giveaway sign that they were near their destination. “For that matter… I think it’s just past these few trees.”

Byleth was puzzled as Claude released his hold of her just as his wyvern removed the branches he was pointing at, but the confusion faded into shock as he gestured for her to follow him, before quickly using his hands to cover her eyes.

“So… Remember when you made me pay for Hilda’s services in making that lovely dress you are wearing?” He asked, waiting for her to respond before continuing. “Well… I flew over this place during my journey. I couldn’t help but land for a short while to investigate this place, and almost straight away, I knew that I wanted to bring you here one day. Your notes, as well as your current orders to rest and relax, gave me the perfect excuse to do just that,” he explained, before removing his hands from her eyes.

Before the pair was a small patch of land, accompanied by a small lake. The waters were clear and still enough that the sky was almost perfectly reflected. The moonlight was breaking through gaps in the clouds, and alongside the ambience provided by the nature such as fireflies and trees, it straight away felt like a place where the two of them could feel safe and comfortable.

There was only one part of their surroundings which wasn’t natural – a small pile of blankets and pillows which had been set out on the grass beside the water.

“I must confess… I’ve come here multiple times as of late, and know that it is a quiet place without people around to disturb anything, so I was here during the afternoon to make this place into… a retreat of sorts for us both. Even if it is only for one night…”

“Claude… You’re a little romantic at heart, aren’t you?”

The slight smile on his face quickly shifted to a gasp. “Hey, I- I did this out of the goodness of my heart…” He promptly turned his head away as he continued muttering under his breath. “_Plus during a war isn’t the best time to confess…”_

Byleth smiled at his reaction, before she walked over to the blankets, and sat down, getting comfortable on one of the pillows. “I wasn’t saying it was a bad thing, Claude… This is lovely. I love everything about this place. It reminds me of a simpler time… A time before war…” She then gestured for him to sit beside her, which he quickly did whilst concealing his reddened face. “I haven’t felt so safe in a long time.”

After a few moments of levelling out his breathing and calming his racing heart, Claude lay back and moved his hands behind his head. “Well, if this place feels safe… How about we make a deal then? If either of us encounter trouble during this war – whether it is due to feeling overwhelmed with our duties, Garreg Mach is taken away from us, or even something as simple as wanting to talk in private – we use this place as a meeting spot? A place for just you and me, away from the stresses of an army, an alliance, and a religion. A place where we can just be you and me. Just… Just Claude and Byleth.”

“That… sounds lovely,” Byleth whispered, followed by her yawning as she joined him in lying down. Claude proceeded to take hold of one of the spare blankets, and pulled it over them both. “You know…” She shifted slightly closer to him, and for what felt like the millionth time that night, they held hands once more. “I was a bit concerned with your announcement of us going on an ‘adventure’ at first… I was half expecting to be pulled to one of the taverns at one of the villages surrounding the monastery. I never expected this… I never realised just how beautiful the night sky was despite living under it for much of my life, nor did I expect to end up in a wonderful place such as this.”

“Byleth… Hearing that means a lot to me. I may not be the sort of guy to have his heart on his sleeve, but I… I really do feel happy hearing that. I feel like the luckiest person in the world to have you as my best friend,” he stated, before turning his head to face her. Her eyes were open, but barely just. It was likely that she didn’t hear much of what he had just said, so he decided simply to smile, and hold her a slight bit closer to him under the blankets.

Of course, that may or may not have been due to a certain wyvern deciding to get comfortable on the blankets beside them both.


End file.
